In the early hours of Tuesday April 14, Commercial bike riders(Bensikin) within the city of Bamenda were stopping colleagues, from carrying passengers to their different destinations.
Those who attempted not yielding to the call for strike action, were caught in a fight or had their keys seized. Inhabitants within the city of Bamenda were cued at different junctions of the town with difficulty reaching their different destinations.
The bensikin riders say the reason behind their strike action concerns the whereabouts of their bikes, seized by the forces of law and order, stationed at different check points of the town.
Some of them told this reporter that, they had gone up to authorities to regularize their situation and get their bikes, but after negotiating, their bikes were nowhere to be found.
Others suspected that their bikes have been sold to individuals living out of the region, and with these suspicions they are requesting for the return of their bikes in order to avoid the strike action from persisting.
"Bike riding is our means of survival, the administration started with registration at City council, passengers don't pay their fair well, fuel prices is still on the increase, recently bikes have been seized, yet owners cannot find their bikes. This is bad, and we demand that the bikes taken should be released" a bike rider, tells The Guardian Post.
" We have a problem and we believe our father the Governor of the Region will listen to us, we have been stopped to moved to his office but an administrator has invited us to talk and bring out solutions to the reasons we are striking for, we hope the message will calm my brothers, so that they can return home." A female rider tells the Press.
The riders staged a March to the Governor's office but were stopped on their way by the forces of law and order.
The Divisional Officer for Bamenda 1, Gilbert Guibai Baldena came down to calm down flares and advice them to abide by the laws and asked their representative to come to the office for dialogue.
Though the meeting didn't hold on Thursday April 16th, the City Mayor, Achombang Tambeng Paul adviced the bike riders to table their grievances to him and allow him concert with the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, Simon Emile Mooh, and ask them to get back to work in waiting.
Ndefru's Diary